“Mr. Marks, by mandate of the
District of Columbia Pre-crime Division, I'm placing you under arrest for the
future murder of Sarah Marks and Donald Dubin that was to take place today,
April 22 at 0800 hours and four minutes”, John Anderton.
Set in the year 2054 where crime
in the Capital city of Washington D.C. has taken on primary importance, the
film Minority Report explores questions that have taxed philosophers and
thinkers for centuries. This science fiction thriller follows the story of John
Anderton (Tom Cruise) and the events that lead up to his ‘pre-determined’
murder followed by the consequent flaws that he exposes in the Department of
Pre-Crime. After running a successful course over a period of eight years, the
Department of Pre-Crime is brought into focus through the agency of Danny
Witwer (Colin Farrel), a government official who attempts to take over
Anderton’s job as one of the heads of the department. Witwer’s opinion of
Pre-Crime is one of doubt and scepticism and he tries diligently to find flaws
and inconsistencies within the system. When John Anderton is accused of future
murder, his conviction in his own innocence and the belief that he has been
framed, inspires a chain of events that eventually lead to the end of a sytem
that was once believed to be infallible.
The Division of Pre-Crime
operates through three ‘super-human beings’ called pre-cognitives who are
blessed with visions of the future. These visions are brought to the attention
of the Pre-Crime squad who are responsible for arresting the perpetrator of the
crime before the crime actually takes place. This raises the age-old question
of pre-destination versus free-will.
There are philosophers who
believe in the existence of destiny and predetermination and they hold the
claim that events that take place were destined to take place and could not
have occured in any other sequence. The opposing school of thought argues that
life depends on choices that human beings are free to take and accordingly face
consequences as a result of the universal law of cause and effect. The film
begins by adopting the belief in the former school of thought where people are
arrested before they actually commit the crime that they are being convicted
for. There are a few questions that can be raised here to appose this line of
thinking. The crime never takes place in actuality. The murder/rape/assault,
never happens in reality but is taken for granted solely on the basis of the
visions that the pre-cogs see. In a situation where a person is ‘about’ to be
shot, can it be taken on faith that the event was undoubtebly going to follow,
or does the fact that the bullet did not leave the gun in reality hold more
importance? Is the person free to choose at the moment when the murder is about
to take place, or should he be charged as guilty, solely on the basis of the
circumstances and set-up that offer sufficient evidence to suggest otherwise?
Pre-Crime believes that the latter is true, and therefore hundreds of
‘potential’ criminals are jailed before they could actually be termed as
criminals.
As the movie progresses, John
Anderton proves that the system is not infallible, and by exposing a murder
that the head of the Department Director Burgess commits, he is able to bring
an end to Pre-Crime and finally restore balance to a world that is free to
choose its own destiny.
In my opinion, the world
functions on the basis of both free-will and destiny. I believe that choices
that we have made in the past influence the circumstances that we find
ourselves in today. I also believe that although today’s circumstance has been
pre-determined to some extent, we still have the power to excercise free-will
and improve our present situation. I also think that the past and the future
exist and are kept alive solely in our minds, and that the present moment is
the field on which life really takes place.
By. Hridaynag Kooretti
LE-3
60307
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